Lake Travis - Westlake Edition | August 2022

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2022 EDUCATION EDITION

Safety procedures may vary among districts and even campuses according to budget, ability and access. District Safety Procedures

Mandated school safety reviews

LAKE TRAVIS ISD

EANES ISD

LEANDER ISD Police force or resource personnel Controlled visitor entry point Badge system for students* Metal detectors at doors**

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued mandates June 1 directing schools to review their safety plans and procedures and submit their results by Sept. 1.

Police force or resource personnel Controlled visitor entry point

Review emergency operations plans

Mass alert system

Train school behavioral threat assessment team on campus procedures Train all sta and substitutes on district safety procedures Assess access-control procedures such as single-access entries and locked doors

Security cameras on all buildings

SOURCE: EANES ISD, LAKE TRAVIS ISD, LEANDER ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

*POSSIBLE FUTURE BOND ITEM **ONLY AT LEANDER EXTENDED OPPORTUNITY CENTER CAMPUS

Additionally, districts are considering utilizing poten- tial bond funds to tackle safety and security. LTISD’s upcoming bond will allo- cate $548.41 million to school district facilities, along with $60.79 million

government-approved identication to compare against a sex oender database and alert designated school ocials if a match is found. EISD and LTISD both have mass-emergency alert systems, which send instructions and information in the event of an emergency. While LISD does not have an alert system, one could be in the works pending a future bond, Humes said. Each district has a tip line, which allows students and parents to report bullying, harassment, safety issues and other information to the district condentially. LTISD and LISD both have online submission forms, while EISD allows individuals to call 512- 499-TIPS to report illegal activity. LISD’s alternative campus, Leander Extended Opportunity Center, is the only campus in the three districts with a metal detector at its entrance, Humes said. For EISD, metal detectors pres- ent a logistical problem: With only one high school, getting about 2,800 stu- dents through two metal detectors each morning is unfeasible, Trimble said. EISD has two resource ocers stationed at Westlake High School. Resource ocers are ocers from local law enforcement agencies employed through the district. LISD has eight resource ocers for each of its high school campuses.

LTISD has its own police force with six ocers and a police chief, which was enacted in the 2021-22 academic year. There are two ocers at Lake Travis High School, one at each of its three middle schools and one ocer that rotates patrols across elementary campuses, Michael said. However, there are other measures districts can take to ensure physical security, EISD Superintendent Je Arnett said. EISD will install perimeter fencing at several schools this sum- mer and will expand its use of secu- rity cameras. LTISD will assign sta at campuses to conduct additional door audits totaling two to three checks per week, Michael said. Mental health supports In addition to these “hard” secu- rity measures, Arnett said there are a number of “soft” security measures districts support as well, such as men- tal health management. For Michael, the key to promoting safety and security on campuses is developing relationships between students and on-campus ocers. These relationships allow students to feel comfortable coming forward to share information, which is why it is important to have assigned ocers on campuses, he said. “If you have an assigned ocer at a campus, that ocer has the abil- ity to build those relationships from day one,” Michael said. “There are a million things you can do for safety and security, but I rmly believe in my heart that building relationships, talking to people and knowing kids is probably the most important thing.”

The governor’s mandate also authorizes Texas School Safety Center ocials to conduct in-person, unannounced random intruder detection audits to test security on campuses. SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE TEXAS GOVERNORCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

and planning for Eanes ISD. “It all starts with prevention, but we can’t prevent everything, so a lot of it goes back to response and having the resources there to respond to some- thing out of our control.” In the wake of Uvalde, Gov. Greg Abbott released a set of mandates to the Texas School Safety Center on June 1 that districts must implement by September. These requirements include conducting a smaller-scale security audit over the summer, train- ing all sta on security procedures and instituting random intruder audits from the Texas School Safety Center on all campuses. Districts in the Lake Travis and Westlake areas already meet sev- eral of the mandate’s requirements, including conducting regular external door audits and training all sta on protocols. Lake Travis Independent School District already does random intruder audits, and Chief of Police Andy Michael said he is condent the district is prepared.

for technology improvements, both of which include measures to increase security. The other two area districts also have plans for bonds that include allo- cating funds to increasing safety and security on campuses. While EISD and Leander Independent School Dis- trict have not set timelines for these potential bonds, district ocials said they do have plans to pursue them sometime in the future. “Safety of our students and sta is our top priority,” LISD Risk Manage- ment Director Darla Humes said. “As we continue to grow, we will continue to explore, to collaborate with other school districts, and to nd new ways to improve safety and security.” Existing safety measures All three districts have a number of safety and security measures in place to protect students and sta. Each of these districts use the Rap- tor System for visitor check-in, which requires visitors to provide a form of

LAKE TRAVIS ISD $253M 2018 BOND

LEANDER ISD $454.4M 2017 BOND

EANES ISD $80M 2019 BOND

bond spending Bonds from all three districts over the past ve years have allocated funds to improve safety and security in the districts.

$801,000 • Adding secure entry vestibules • Outdoor learning center fencing • Athletic stadium upgrades

$6.5 million • Intercom, notication communications • Security cameras, emergency communication systems • Perimeter fencing, other facility security

$27.7 million • Entry vestibules at high schools and middle schools • Other campus security upgrades

For more information, visit communityimpact.com .

Safety and security bond projects

SOURCES: EANES ISD, LAKE TRAVIS ISD, LEANDER ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION • AUGUST 2022